Key events
26th over: South Africa 141-3 (Breetzke 72, Stubbs 23) Marsh is now in T20 captaincy mode, rotating his bowlers every over, recalling Ellis to his attack. His first delivery beats the bat with an outswinger, his second traps Stubbs on the crease with one that nips back. There’s a hearty call for LBW but it was likely doing too much and Marsh wisely opts not to review. Two dots become three, then four, the pressure building each delivery. Finally Stubbs rotates strike and Breetzke nurdles a couple behind square on the off side.
25th over: South Africa 138-3 (Breetzke 70, Stubbs 22) Marsh calls on bowler number seven! Marnus Labuschagne is the man, after Head was offered only one over in the attack. South Africa deal in singles, with only one bold stroke from Breetzke threatening to ruffle any feathers but his lofted drive off an outside edge lands safely.
24th over: South Africa 133-3 (Breetzke 68, Stubbs 19) Consecutive boundaries for Breetzke! Neither stroke was particularly pleasing on the eye; the first a dragged sweep, the second a back-foot force through wide mid-on, but they keep the scoreboard moving after accepting a period of rebuilding following the dismissal of de Zorzi.
23rd over: South Africa 121-3 (Breetzke 58, Stubbs 17) Hazlewood takes another breather and Marsh opts for spin from both ends with Head coming on to chuck his darts from around the wicket at the pair of right-handers. He races through his work for the concession of just three singles.
22nd over: South Africa 118-3 (Breetzke 56, Stubbs 16) The ticker climbs to 43 deliveries since the last boundary as Zampa continues to tie up Stubbs… until the South African picks the wrong-un and hits with the spin over long-on for an effortless punched six. That’ll help break the shackles.
21st over: South Africa 110-3 (Breetzke 55, Stubbs 9) With Hazlewood and Zampa bowling in tandem Australia are putting the squeeze on South Africa. It’s been a fair old while since the last boundary and Breetzke tries to force the issue with a drive aimed towards cover that skews off his outside edge and on the bounce to third in the deep.
20th over: South Africa 103-3 (Breetzke 50, Stubbs 7) Both right-handers are having to use their feet well to Zampa because he’s getting some nice drift into the pads and he’s varying his pace subtly. Breetzke drives through the off-side to bring up his half-century, his fourth score over 50 in his fourth ODI. Not a bad start to an international career. It’s almost 50 and out but a faint under-edge allows Breetzke to survive a wild sweep.
19th over: South Africa 100-3 (Breetzke 49, Stubbs 5) Hazlewood comes back into the attack for his second spell as Marsh senses an opportunity to chip into the South African middle order before Stubbs is set. The number five defends a couple then gets off strike with a gimme off his hip. Some more strike rotation follows as this partnership rebuilds in singles.
18th over: South Africa 97-3 (Breetzke 48, Stubbs 3) Three balls, three singles from the start of Zampa’s second over, the last of which a squirty inside edge from a delivery that outfoxed Breetzke in the air. A rare full toss doesn’t get put away by Stubbs, who retains strike with another single. Not for the first time in his ODI career Adam Zampa looks the key man for Australia.
17th over: South Africa 93-3 (Breetzke 46, Stubbs 1) Hardie continues, and his ugly figures are made prettier by South Africa dropping anchor for an over following the loss of de Zorzi.
WICKET! de Zorzi c&b Zampa 38 (South Africa 90-3)
Key moment in the innings now with Zampa brought into the attack for our first look at spin for the day – and it almost buys a wicket after three balls! De Zorzi played back, misread the spin and jagged a leading edge that tempts the bowler in his follow through but doesn’t elicit a dive. Not to worry, three balls later almost exactly the same thing happens and this time it lobs straight back to the bowler! Brilliant from Zampa. De Zorzi had absolutely no idea how to play his five deliveries and eventually perishes. That’s a massive partnership-breaker straight after drinks.
16th over: South Africa 90-3 (Breetzke 44)
15th over: South Africa 89-2 (de Zorzi 38, Breetzke 43) Another close shave for de Zorzi! This time he crunches the returning Hardie straight to Bartlett at midwicket but the ball arrived to the fielder on the half-volley. Now another close shave for Breetzke! He aimed a leg-stump half-volley over square leg but got through his shot too quickly and instead has to accept his boundary over third, off a massive loopy leading edge.
South Africa take drinks in a decent position thanks to this partnership, following Bartlett’s early brace. The pitch is a bit two-paced so it’s still hard to tell what a decent score looks like.
14th over: South Africa 82-2 (de Zorzi 37, Breetzke 37) Oooooh, three close calls for this pair with de Zorzi cutting off the back foot just in front of the diving point, then Breetzke almost picks out mid-off with a forehand smash from a very very very slow bouncer. Ellis then lands his quicker ball perfectly and is unfortunate to beat the stroke without finding the inside edge or the top of middle stump.
13th over: South Africa 75-2 (de Zorzi 36, Breetzke 31) Right on cue, Breetzke heralds Bartlett’s sixth over by walking down the track and top-edging a massive hoick that careens over Inglis and away for four. Five busy singles complete a textbook ODI over.
12th over: South Africa 66-2 (de Zorzi 34, Breetzke 23) Short from Ellis so de Zorzi clubs a short-arm pull that runs away for four through midwicket. A single rotates strike then Breetzke is dotted up before scampering through a leg-bye after being beaten on his inside edge. It’s been an odd knock from the ‘keeper so far. He’s looked very scratchy either side of three mighty whacks.
11th over: South Africa 60-2 (de Zorzi 29, Breetzke 23) South Africa ended their powerplay 56-2, in Cairns they were 56-0. Bartlett continues and the Proteas continue to struggle to get him away, despite the seamer only bowling around 130kph.
10th over: South Africa 56-2 (de Zorzi 27, Breetzke 21) Marsh doesn’t risk a second over from Hardie so Ellis is brought into the attack. Out come the variations: the back of the hand floater, the full paced bouncer, the length legspinner, the slower bouncer… but de Zorzi is patient, waiting for the off-paced delivery outside off that he can crunch to the cover boundary.
9th over: South Africa 51-2 (de Zorzi 23, Breetzke 20) Bartlett is straight back into the fray, now from the end Hazlewood was operating from, and the two-paced pitch troubles Breetzke from the crease. Not so de Zorzi who absolutely marmalises a line drive that scuds away for four, almost taking out bowler and umpire like tenpins along the way. That was a brutal smear of a hit.
8th over: South Africa 45-2 (de Zorzi 18, Breetzke 19) Hardie replaces Bartlett, who dots up Breetzke with a couple of deliveries full and straight, then the South Africa sprints out of his crease and lofts a massive drive straight back over the bowler’s head that plugs just short of the rope and rolls over for a four. He goes again next ball, this time getting through his wallop earlier and dragging a six over square leg! AND AGAIN! What on earth was that? Line and length from Hardie so Breetzke raises his front leg and whips an effortlessly timed flick up and over for six more.
Looks like South Africa’s whiteboard had ‘Target Hardie’ double underlined.
7th over: South Africa 29-2 (de Zorzi 18, Breetzke 3) Hazlewood squares up the right-handed Breetzke but the Aussie quick’s stock length is probably a fraction too short for this pitch with the extra bounce he generates. Hazlewood is such a class act he recognises this, pushes his length up and draws Breetzke into an awful shot that loops through the vacant covers when it could have easily gone to hand.
6th over: South Africa 26-2 (de Zorzi 17, Breetzke 1) Bartlett has 2/10 from three overs and a ludicrous ODI average of 4.80. He’s not done a lot to earn his success today, but he’ll doubtless have days where he bowls beautifully and can’t buy a dismissal.
WICKET! Rickleton c Inglis b Bartlett 8 (South Africa 23-2)
Bartlett continues to get away with the occasional bad ball, suggesting off-pace deliveries might have the most success this afternoon. De Zorzi mistimes a booming drive to a wide half-volley, then a boundary ball is stopped superbly by Nathan Ellis at extra-cover. South Africa jog a single regardless, but may regret the run because Rickleton is out next ball, driving an edge behind the wicket to a stock delivery angled away from him. Excellent keeping from Inglis, showing quick footwork to move sharply to his left and take first slip out of the equation.
Bartlett has two early. The Proteas are in a pickle.
5th over: South Africa 21-1 (Rickelton 7, de Zorzi 14) Another lovely stroke from de Zorzi, this time only worth three, playing the ball away square from the crease, riding the top of the bounce. Hazlewood takes it personally and rips a change-up bouncer through South Africa’s first drop’s attempted pull. But after returning to his stock length de Zorzi repeats the trick – only with even better timing – sending a beautiful crisp back-foot drive to the point boundary.
4th over: South Africa 12-1 (Rickelton 6, de Zorzi 6) Bartlett continues to bowl dots, even with wide half-volleys, while Rickleton struggles for timing. There is definite carry in this pitch, but it’s probably playing slower than South Africa expect at the moment. Maybe it will quicken up as the day goes on? As if to prove the point Rickleton almost drives a fuller delivery straight to point off the outside half of his blade. De Zorzi then shows him how to do it, committing to an expansive drive, hitting through the line and clobbering the opening boundary of the innings through mid-off.
3rd over: South Africa 7-1 (Rickelton 5, de Zorzi 2) To the surprise of nobody, Hazlewood is banging the ball in on a good length for the most part. When he tries to pitch it fuller he strays onto Rickleton’s pads and the left-hander benefits from a Carey misfield to run three. De Zorzi then opens his account with a couple behind square off his hip.
2nd over: South Africa 2-1 (Rickelton 2, de Zorzi 0) A second slip comes in for the new batter, de Zorzi, and they’re both very happy when the number three plays and misses at his opening delivery. Excellent start for Bartlett who begins with a wicket maiden.
WICKET! Markram c Head b Bartlett 0 (South Africa 2-1)
Xavier Bartlett shares new ball duties and he settles into a neat and tidy line and length to Markram, wobbling the ball away from the right-hander from close to the stumps. Then he slips in a rank delivery on the South African skipper’s pads that he clips straight to Travis Head at midwicket. A gift of a wicket and a dream start for Australia.
1st over: South Africa 2-0 (Rickelton 2, Markram 0) Josh Hazlewood takes the new ball and concedes runs from his second delivery with the left-handed Rickleton presenting the full face of the bat and collecting a handsome two. The follow-up has lovely bounce and carry outside the off stump from over the wicket, suggesting there’s something in this straw-coloured deck for the pacemen. That view is reinforced a couple of deliveries later when Hazlewood draws Rickleton forward and beats the stroke with more encouraging carry through to the keeper.
Out march the two sides into the Great Barrier Reef Arena. Australia top to toe in canary yellow with green accents, South Africa resplendent in forest green with gold piping.
Mackay is on the border of central and northern Queensland, which means as winter melts into spring the weather is glorious. It is a flawless afternoon with blue skies and a proud sun overhead leading to temperatures in the early 20s, the heat kept in check by a breeze coming off the Coral Sea. It’s a full house so hopefully they’re treated to more than two deliveries.
South Africa XI
1 Aiden Markram (c), 2 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 3 Tony de Zorzi, 4 Matthew Breetzke, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Dewald Brevis, 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Senuran Muthusamy, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Nandre Burger, 11 Lungi Ngidi
The Proteas go into today’s match without captain Temba Bavuma, who has been rested as part of his workload management relating to his recovery from the hamstring strain he sustained during the WTC Final in June. Tony de Zorzi comes in at number three, while Aiden Markram will stand in as captain. Elsewhere, Senuran Muthusamy comes in for Prenelan Subrayen.
Bavuma will be available to lead the side in the third ODI on Sunday if required.
Australia XI
1 Mitchell Marsh (c), 2 Travis Head, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Cameron Green, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Alex Carey, 7 Aaron Hardie, 8 Xavier Bartlett, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood
One change for the hosts with Xavier Bartlett replacing Ben Dwarshuis. Mitch Marsh assures us he was going to break the habit of a lifetime and bat first had he won the toss.
South Africa win the toss and will bat first
They hardly needed to go through that formality considering Mitch Marsh has won the toss 21 times as captain across T20Is and ODIs and bowled on every occasion.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Good afternoon everybody and welcome to live OBO coverage of the pinnacle of late-winter sport, the nail-biting race for the AFL & NRL finals the second of a three-match bilateral ODI series between Australia and South Africa. Play gets under way in balmy Mackay at 2:30pm.
This is as off-Broadway as men’s international crickets gets on Australian soil. Coverage is available only on pay TV, host city Mackay has a population of just over 100,000, and the magnificently named Great Barrier Reef Arena can accommodate around ten percent of the local community, if they all decided to clock off early on a Friday and enjoy a couple of sundowners.
This is only the second ever ODI at the venue. The first lasted just two deliveries before it was washed out, back when India met Sri Lanka in the 1992 World Cup.
The home side might not mind that attention is elsewhere, considering the thrashing they received a few nights ago in Cairns. For the first time ever, Australia have been bowled out for under 200 in their last three home ODIs.
In the Top End, the top order repeatedly played off the back foot to Keshav Maharaj on a deck that offered both grip and skid to the left-arm spinner. The outcome was inevitable, and not a great indication of the ability of this unit and accompanying brains trust to adapt to conditions.
That was Australia’s sixth defeat in their past seven ODIs, and another win for the Proteas today would secure a fifth straight series win over their hosts.
Following his exploits in Cairns, Maharaj lines up today as the newly minted number one ranked bowler in ODIs. However, he will not have his spin partner from Tuesday alongside him after Prenelan Subrayen was reported for a suspect bowling action on ODI debut. There will now be an independent assessment of Subrayen’s action at an ICC-accredited testing facility to determine if he has to remodel his action. He has faced similar scrutiny three times before, in 2012, 2014, and 2016.
I’ll be back shortly with the toss and line-ups. In the meantime, if you have anything to get off your chest feel free to email me at jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
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